Recap of October Dinner Meeting
Thursday, October 10, 2002

Karen Adey of Peak Strategies spoke at the Mercer County NJAWBO October 10th monthly dinner meeting on the topic of "Power Networking & Crafting an Effective 'Elevator Speech.'" An enthusiastic audience of approximately 30 NJAWBO members and guests braved the rainy weather to hear Adey, a Certified Practitioner of Neurolinguistic Programming. "Make it interesting", Adey told her audience, challenging them to reflect on the level of enthusiasm they bring to each interaction. Since sales is an emotional decision, she pointed out, we must be equally or more enthusiastic to get someone to make a buying decision. Not many of us like to ask for the order, a poll of the group indicated. Adey maintains that putting ourselves out there and asking "What will it take for you to do business with me?" will get the results we are looking for.

To apply these powerful ideas, Adey then provided each participant with a four-part formula for crafting an elevator speech. Each speech includes a "big benefit" for the customer, a statement of fact about what you can provide, a logical benefit to the customer, and an emotional benefit to the customer. During the meeting, participants were invited to stand up and read their drafts aloud, which were then given mini-evaluations by Adey and discussed. In the final exercise on Power Networking, members and guests practiced with a list of 8 Ice Breaker Questions, which were distributed by Adey to each participant. Sample questions included: "What organizations do you belong to?" "Do you have a website? What is your URL?" and "How do you get business?" Adey concluded by inviting each participant to contact her after the presentation for additional insights. Karen Adey can be reached at (973) 543-0085, or at www.peakstrategies.com.